April 20, 2015
Charleston to Mt Pleasant
A lazy day and another one without rain!!! This was our 23rd riding day without rain! I am probably jinxing myself, but the weather forecast for the rest of the week looks good.
So it was a lazy day. Our second day in Charleston. We woke up early as usual but had a leisurely breakfast, staying until 10:00 AM drinking coffee and enjoying the patio seating.
Afterward, we went back to our room to pack our panniers. Happy also iced his foot for 15 minutes, something he tries to do twice daily since he went to the clinic in Savannah. Swelling seems to have subsided a bit although he still has some pain. We decided to check out before roaming the town, and the inn agreed to hold our bikes and gear as late as we desired, which we thought would be no later than 2:00 PM or so, a very nice gesture.
We then ran some errands to CVS for ibuprofen and The Bicycle Shoppe (unlike Savannah, here they feel the need) for chamois butter. We also checked on the availability of a pump so we could refresh our tires. We found that they are kind enough to keep a floor pump with gauge out front on the sidewalk for anyone to use. And it's not secured. That wouldn't last five minutes where I come from! We bought the "butter" and planned to return on the way out of town for an air check.
Which wasn't long. We toured the market on Market Street for a bit and found the only interesting works to be the basket weavers. I'm always suspicious of "handmade" items sold in such a commercial environment, but the vendors (almost always African-American women) were sitting there weaving away (if weaving is the right term). Very impressive work . . . at very impressive prices. But the work is labor-intensive, very creative, and beautiful to behold. Kudos to them.
When we got back to the hotel around noon, the hotel let us change into our bike clothes, and off we went. But not far. Our plan today was to camp out at the Mt Pleasant/Charleston KOA. That was only 15 miles north of us, but it would lighten the load to Georgetown, taking it down from about 78 miles to 63. And it would give us cheaper accommodations and a night under the stars.
So after the air check (we both needed about 10 to 20 psi), we headed north to cross the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, an impressive span over the Cooper River. I've biked several notable spans and was happy to discover this one had a significant pedestrian/bicycle facility.
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After descending from the bridge (by the way, this is a 2-1/2 mile crossing), we entered the town of Mt Pleasant, a somewhat sleepy "suburb" of Charleston. The two had no real physical connection until the pedestrian/bicycle connection was established. Now the bridge provides a real connection between the two communities.
Mt Pleasant is, well, pleasant. We got off the main route as soon as possible and rolled through what was probably the original "main" street, McCants Drive, which eventually became Rifle Range Road. It takes you through the old village section and is relatively quiet, although traffic picked up later in the day due to our lingering at:
OK, that name is made up. In fact, when we pulled over, Happy swore they wouldn't have any, as it looked more like an "antique" shop with vegetables than a place with boiled peanuts. But the proprietor, Curt, produced a pound of them, and Happy was happy. We ultimately had a good 30-minute chat with him and his two friends:
We then pedaled our way up Rifle Range Road, with traffic getting a little heavier, and then easing off as we reached the outer edges of town and eventually the KOA campground located lakeside on a former plantation. All in all, a good day. Not much sun, but no rain either!
Today's ride: 16 miles (26 km)
Total: 1,139 miles (1,833 km)
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